ROSSBURG, Ohio — It’s been a trying time for Logan Schuchart.
Last fall dealt a huge personal loss when his grandfather and Shark Racing leader, Bobby Allen, suddenly passed away. But he was so much more than a relative and team owner. He was Schuchart’s mentor. He helped him in so many areas of life beyond his efforts in lifting his grandson to the top level of sprint car racing.
Losing Allen came amid a tough time on the racetrack for Schuchart. He hadn’t won in over four months at the time, and that carried over into May of this season. But on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway, Schuchart finally scored an emotional triumph in the Shark Racing No. 1s in honor of his grandfather.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars contested the #LetsRaceTwo presented by LGMG finale, and Schuchart put on a show with Brady Bacon. The two swapped the top spot several times in a duel that didn’t disappoint. Schuchart finally managed to wrestle the lead away and fend off a late run from Rico Abreu to grab the checkered flag.
“Man, that guy (Bobby Allen) won the first World of Outlaws race here back in 1978,” a choked up Schuchart said. “This one feels a lot different, but I’m super happy for my team, everybody that’s working so hard at this… We’ve been working at it hard. Like I said earlier today, I knew the statistics weren’t there, and you always get the chatter, ‘What’s going on? Get back to the basics.’ But the truth is what we used to do doesn’t work anymore. We’re working at it, and that’s definitely the best I’ve felt on a slick Eldora in many years. I’m really happy with this thing.”
Schuchart’s win snapped a 64-race winless drought and moved up his career tally with the World of Outlaws up to 45. The Hanover, Pa., native has now won seven times at the “Big E” including five in action with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
That puts Eldora atop the list of tracks where he’s been to victory lane most often. He also extended his active streak to 11 consecutive seasons with at least one win.
Rico Abreu finished second to cap a strong weekend for he and the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team after winning Friday’s #LetsRaceTwo presented by LGMG opener.
Brady Bacon came home third after leading 15 laps in the TKH Motorsports No. 21h. The Broken Arrow, Okla., native nearly swept the night, topping the USAC National Sprint Car portion of the event before the World of Outlaws podium.
Emerson Axsom and Sheldon Haudenschild completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu[4]; 3. 21H-Brady Bacon[2]; 4. 27-Emerson Axsom[6]; 5. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]; 6. 2-David Gravel[11]; 7. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[10]; 9. 17-Spencer Bayston[19]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 11. 83-Michael Kofoid[7]; 12. 17B-Bill Balog[22]; 13. 41-Carson Macedo[14]; 14. 6-Kasey Jedrzejek[20]; 15. 71-Parker Price Miller[23]; 16. 94-Brad Sweet[9]; 17. 26-Justin Peck[17]; 18. 21-Brian Brown[13]; 19. 7S-Chris Windom[8]; 20. 2C-Cole Macedo[18]; 21. 5B-Karter Sarff[12]; 22. 87X-Logan Seavey[16]; 23. 51-Ashton Torgerson[24]; 24. 16C-Skylar Gee[21]
